| 802.11 | Wireless LAN specification of the IEEE; data rate up to 2 Mbps; in 2.4 GHz ISM band; FHSS and DSSS; infrared spectrum communications also planned |
| 802.11a | Extension to 802.11; data rate up to 54 Mbit/s; in 5 GHz band; OFDM |
| 802.11b | Extension to 802.11; data rate up to 11 Mbit/s; in 2.4 GHz band; high market penetration; DSSS/CCK |
| 802.11g | Extension to 802.11; data rate up to 54 Mbit/s; in 2.4 GHz band; OFDM and DSSS |
| 802.11h | 802.11a customization, data rate up to 54 Mbit/s; in 5 GHz band; in area of transmission power and frequency management; for use in Europe; OFDM |
| 802.11i | Future 802.11 extension with additional security features |
| 802.1x | Specification of a port-based authentication mechanism from the IEEE |
| AES | Advanced Encryption Standard |
| Access point | Base station in a wireless LAN; independent LAN-WLAN bridge; connects stations of a LAN (local network) with a WLAN (wireless network) in a point-to-multipoint mode; connects two networks over a wireless network in point-to-point mode |
| Access router | Active network component for connection of a local network to the Internet or a company network |
| ADSL | Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line - transmission process for high-speed data transmission over normal telephone lines. With ADSL, transmissions (downstream) of up to 6 Mbps can be implemented over normal telephone lines; for bidirectional transmission there is a second frequency band with transmission speeds of up to 640 kbps (upstream) - hence the name "asymmetric". |
| Bandwidth | Data rate with which a user can surf the Internet; the higher the bandwidth, the faster the connection |
| Broadband | Service which provides high bandwidth; e.g.: DSL or WLAN |
| Bridge | Transport protocol-independent, transparent network component; transmits all packets which are identified as "not local" and only understands the difference between "local" and "remote". Works on Layer 2 of the OSI model |
| Broadcast | Broadcasts are packets to all stations of a local network; bridges transmit broadcasts; routers do not transmit broadcasts |
| BSS | Basic Service Set |
| CAPI | Common ISDN Application Programming Interface - CAPI is a standard for control of ISDN adapters |
| CCK | Code Complementary Keying; type of modulation used by DSSS |
| Client | Any computer equipped with a wireless LAN adapter (wireless LAN card), which uses services provided by other participants in the wireless network |
| CSMA/CA | Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance; access procedure to the radio channel used under 802.11 |
| CRC | Cyclic Redundancy Check; process for detecting bit errors |
| Data throughput | Speed at which you can surf on the Internet; depends on the bandwidth and the number of users |
| DHCP | Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol |
| DNS | Domain Name Service - computers communicate with computers in remote networks using IP addresses; DNS servers translate names into IP addresses; without DNS servers, you would have to remember all IP addresses and couldn't work with names (e.g. www.lancom.de) |
| Domain | area of network closed to outside; => Intranet |
| Download / Downstream | Download / downstream denotes the direction of dataflow in a WAN. Downstream is the direction from the head end or Internet to the participant connected to the network. |
| DS | Distribution System |
| DSL | Digital Subscriber Line - DSL procedures include all procedures for digital-broadband use of telephone lines, such as ADSL, HDSL, SDSL, VDSL and so on, which are also called xDSL. |
| DSSS | Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum; code multiplex -- band spreading process |
| Dynamic DNS | IPsec-VPN implementation which allows the transparent connection of local networks into a VPN solution, even when their routers work with dynamic addresses (dial-up) |
| EAP | Extensible Authentication Protocol |
| EAP-MD5 | EAP variant which uses password for one-sided authentication |
| EAP-TLS | EAP Transport Layer Security; EAP variant which uses certificates for mutual authentication |
| EAP-TTLS | EAP Tunneled Transport Layer Security; EAP variant which uses certificates for mutual authentication |
| EIRP | Effective Isotropic Radiated Power |
| ESS | Extended Service Set |
| ESSID | Extended Service Set Identity; “network name" of the wireless LAN |
| Ethernet | Strand or star-formed physical transport medium; all stations can send simultaneously; collisions are detected and corrected through the network protocol |
| FHSS | Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum; frequency skipping band spread procedure |
| Firewall | Protective mechanism for an Intranet against attacks from outside |
| Frequency | Number of oscillations per second (given in Hertz; 1 Hz = 1 oscillation per second; GHz = Gigahertz = 1 billion Hertz or oscillations per second) |
| FTP | File Transfer Protocol enables data transfer between different systems and simple file manipulation; FTP is based on the TCP transmission protocol |
| Frequency band | Contiguous frequency range which has the same transmission properties |
| Radio frequency | Every radio application uses globally regulated radio frequencies |
| Gateway | Network component which provides access to other network components on a layer of the => OSI model. Packets which do not go to a local partner are sent to the gateway. The gateway takes care of communication with remote networks. |
| Hub | Network component; distributor; collector; also used to translate from one connection type to another |
| HotSpot | Locally limited wireless network with a base station with Internet access; public wireless Internet access |
| IAPP roaming | Roaming between the cells of a wireless network using IAPP (Inter Access Point Protocol) |
| IBSS | Independent Basic Service Set |
| IDS | Intrusion Detection System -- earliest possible detection of attacks on the network |
| IEEE | Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, New York - www.ieee.org |
| IP | Internet Protocol |
| IP masquerading | Combination of PAT (Port Address Translation) and NAT (Network Address Translation) from LANCOM Systems process used for connection of an intranet (multiple workstations) to the Internet over a single IP address; simultaneously, the internal computers are protected from attacks from outside |
| IPSec | Internet Protocol Security |
| IP Quality of Service | These functions give precedence to enterprise-critical applications, particular services, or user groups |
| ISDN | Integrated Services Digital Network -- fast connection; two independent channels; higher transmission rates than analog (up to 128 Kbit/s); uses the old analog lines; comfort features (call forwarding, callback on busy, etc.); supports both analog and digital services |
| ISM frequency band | Industrial-Scientific-Medical, license-free frequency bands which can be used for industrial, scientific, and medical purposes. |
| ISP | Internet Service Provider -- service provider with a connection to the Internet (backbone) who provides connection points for end customers |
| LCOS | LANCOM Operating System - uniform operating system for LANCOM products |
| LAN | Local Area Network - local network limited to one site |
| LANcapi | Virtual CAPI which is provided over the network; with LANcapi, which is implemented in all LANCOM routers with ISDN interfaces, a PC connected to the LAN can use ISDN telematic services |
| LANconfig | Software for configuration of LANCOM devices under Windows |
| LANtools | Diverse, user-friendly set of tools for the management and monitoring of LANCOM products and systems |
| MAC | Media Access Control; radio access protocol on ISO Layer 2 data link; it defines packet format, packet addressing, and error detection |
| MAC address | Serial number of a network component which is assigned by the manufacturer |
| Mbit | Megabit: standard unit for the specification of data quantities in the context of bandwidths |
| MIC | Message Integrity Check, cryptographic integrity protection mechanism |
| NetBIOS | Network Basic Input/Output System. Non-routable network protocol for local networks developed by IBM and later taken over by Microsoft. |
| NTBA | Network Termination Basic Adaptor . The NTBA (network termination adapter) is responsible in an ISDN base connection for the translation of the connection created by the telephone company to the S0 bus. |
| OFDM | Orthogonal Frequency Divison Multiplex |
| PEAP | Protected EAP, EAP variant for mutual authentication |
| PKI | Public Key Infrastructure |
| PPP | Point to Point Protocol: network protocol for connections between two computers. PPP is based on TCP/IP. |
| PPTP | Point to Point Tunneling Protocol: Network protocol for the construction of virtual private networks over the Internet. |
| Point-to-Multipoint (WLAN) | Multiple WLAN stations log into a base station and constitute a common network with the wired stations |
| Point-to-Point (WLAN) | Two base stations connect two wired networks over WLAN; point-to-point operation enables coupling of networks even across streets without cables |
| QoS | Quality of Service (see also IP Quality of Service) |
| RADIUS | Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service; authentication and monitoring protocol on the application level for authentication, integrity protection, and accounting for network access |
| RC4 | Streaming cipher process by Ron Rivest, "Ron's Code" |
| RFC | Request for Comments |
| Router | Intelligent network components; comparable with a post office, which can determine from the logical destination address of a packet which next network component should transmit the packet; knows the overall topology of the network |
| SDSL | Single Line Digital Subscriber Line - downstream and upstream with 2.048 Mbit/s (two-strand wire) |
| Server | Computer which provides services over the network (e.g. files, news, email, WWW pages) |
| SINA | Secure Inter-Network Architecture |
| SMTP | Simple Mail Transfer Protocol - SMTP protocol is the Internet standard for distribution of electronic mail; the protocol is based on the TCP protocol |
| SNMPv3 | Simple Network Management Protocol Version 3 |
| SSID | Service Set Identity; “network name" of the wireless LAN |
| SSL | Secure Socket Layer |
| Splitter | The splitter is comparable with an audio frequency filter; in an ADSL connection, the splitter separates the ISDN signals from the DSL signals; the ISDN signals go to the NTBA and the DSL signals go to the DSL modem |
| Switch | A central distributor in a star-shaped network; each station has the entire bandwidth available; if a station fails, the rest of the network is not affected; is used for collision prevention; increases the overall throughput of the network; switches are cascadable |
| TAE | Telephone connection unit used in Germany. Plug for the connection of analog devices like a telephone or modem into the telephone network. |
| TCP/IP | Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol; family of protocols (ARP, ICMP, IP, UDP, TCP, HTTP, FTP, TFTP) used mainly in the Internet, although it is making headway in intranets as well |
| TKIP | Temporal Key Integrity |
| TLS | Transport Layer Security |
| TPC | Transmission Power Control |
| Upload/Upstream | Upload / upstream denotes the direction of dataflow in a WAN; upstream is the direction from the node connected to the network to the head end/Internet |
| Chaining | Concatenation of bit sequences |
| VPN | Virtual Private Network - a VPN is a network consisting of virtual connections over which non-public or company internal data can be transmitted securely, even if public network infrastructures are used |
| WAN | Wide Area Network - network connection over long distances (e.g. over ISDN with a LANCOM router) |
| WECA | Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance; alliance of manufacturers of wireless LAN components based on IEEE 802.11; renamed the WiFi Alliance |
| WEBconfig | Web-based configuration interface for LANCOM devices. |
| WEP | Wired Equivalent Privacy |
| WiFi | Wireless Fidelity; marketing concept generated by the WECA |
| WiFi-Alliance | Alliance of manufacturers of wireless LAN components based on IEEE 802.11; formerly the WECA |
| WLAN | Wireless Local Area Network - local radio network |
| WPA | WiFi Protected Access; name for security mechanisms beyond IEEE 802.11; generated by the WiFi Alliance |
| WISP | Wireless Internet Service Provider |
| xDSL | xDSL stands for the family of Digital Subscriber Line technologies |
| XOR | Logical operation "exclusive OR" |